Creating a Spam Filter Rule in Macintosh for Mail OS 10.4

ITS has implemented a new way of marking spam messages. Potential spam or junk mail messages are flagged in the subject line of each message as POTENTIAL SPAM. This allows UCB e-mail users to filter spam and junk mail messages away from their inbox. For more information about ITS's effort against spam go to www.colorado.edu/its/email/spam.html

Creating a Spam Filter

To set up a filter:

1. Open Macintosh Mail for OS 10.4.

2. Click the Mailbox option from the top of the window, then choose New Mailbox... from the drop-down menu.

3. In the Name: field, type SPAM, then click OK.

4. Click on the Mail drop-down menu and select Preferences....

5. The preferences window will open. Click on the Junk Mail button. Then click the Enable junk mail filtering check box.

6. In the When junk mail arrives: section, make click the Perform custom actions (Click Advanced to configure) radio button.

7. In the next section, click all of the check boxes.

8. Click the check box next to Trust junk mail headers set by my Internet Service Provider and then click the Advanced... button.

9. In the Description: text box, type Junk to identify the Junk Mail rule.

10. The first three rules have been filled by default based on the values you input in the first window. Click the + button next to the last rule to add another condition.

11. Click the first drop-down menu, and choose Subject from the menu.

12. In the text field that appears, type POTENTIAL SPAM.

13. In the Perform the following actions: section, click on the first drop-down menu. Choose Move Message from the menu.

14. In the next drop-down menu, scroll to the On My Mac subfolder, then click SPAM folder from the options.

15. The conditions for the Spam/Junk Mail filter should now be fully set to comply with CU's Spam Filter. Click the OK menu and close any other windows.

Mac Mail will now automatically move all mail that CU's mail filter thinks is spam into the folder called Spam and not into your Inbox. It is recommended that you occasionally peruse and trash the contents of the Spam folder to make sure there are no false positives (messages marked as spam, but are not) and to save disk space.

For more information about spam go to www.colorado.edu/its/email/spam.html